BR102017018891A2 - Autonomous Cooling Robe - Google Patents

Abstract

Autonomous cooling robe designed to cool the wearer by evaporating a coolant that comes into contact with the wearer's skin surface, referring to the technical sector of the refrigeration systems associated with the garment. Multifunctional panels attached to the garment on the body parts such as the chest, back, abdomen, arms or legs, are permeable to ambient air and contain, juxtaposed to the inner side of the multifunction panel itself, a liquid retaining screen that is kept in contact with the user's skin. The transfer of the coolant contained in a reservoir to each screen is automatically controlled and the user adjusts the system operation to enable and disable the ventilation incident on the liquid trapped in said screens and to adjust the amount of liquid dispersed. on the screens according to your need. The air flow that is ventilated by the fans and the air that permeates through these multifunctional panels favors the evaporation of the liquid retained in the screens promoting the user's cooling.

Description

[001] THE AUTONOMOUS REFRIGERATION DRESS relates to heat exchange systems, specifically systems to cool an individual. More specifically, the present invention relates to the refrigeration systems associated with clothing whose purpose is to maintain thermal comfort for users in high temperature environments.

State of the Art [002] Certain branches of human activity are usually exercised using clothing that inhibits the heat exchange of the human body with the environment, also, the natural means of refrigeration of the human body can present unsatisfactory performance under certain specific environmental conditions .

[003] There are several inventions proposing individual refrigeration solutions integrated into a garment, among which are:

“Water Vest For Motocross Riders”, patent “U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,408 ”of April 8, 1986 features a motorcycle vest composed of impact protection panels that are permeable to ambient air, and screens made of a water retaining material that is in contact with the user's skin, the evaporation of the water retained in the screens and intensified by the flow of ambient air that flows through the panels cools the user, and these screens must be soaked in water when wearing the vest;

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 2/20 “Micro-Climate Cooling Garment”, “U.S. patent Pat. No. 5,415,222 ”of May 16, features a vest with bags permeable to ambient air, with an internal structure in the shape of a beehive. Adhered to this honeycomb structure is a material that changes its physical state at certain temperatures;

“Garment For A Cooling And Hydration System”, patent “U.S. Pat. No. US2006 / 0191063 A1 ”of August 31, 2006 features a vest that has a closed circuit in which water flows which is cooled when passing through a reservoir with ice, pressurized air is injected into the vest to increase the user's contact area with the vest;

“Heat Exchange Garment”, “U.S. patent Pat. US No. 2009/0165183 A1 ”of July 2, 2009 presents a vest with bags distributed inside the vest that are filled with a heat exchanger material, these bags must be frozen before being used in the vest;

“Man Portable Micro-Climate”, “U.S. patent Pat. US No. 8,281,609 B1 ”of October 9, 2012 features a vest to which a bundle of flexible tubes is juxtaposed, dry and cooled air flows through the tubes that are perforated in such a way as to allow cold, dry air to escape and into its place between hot and humid air that was in the interstice of the vest with the user, this hot and humid air is then treated so that it is dried and cooled and forced again to flow through the pipe;

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 3/20 “MOMO ADC Pro Driver Cooling System” presents a T-shirt with a water circuit juxtaposed to the T-shirt itself, in which water flows that is chilled by an ice box;

“Macna Dry Cooling Vest” features a vest in which the inner part is made of a material that retains water and the outer part is impermeable to water and has holes for the passage of ambient air. The vest is wetted so that the inside is soaked in water, the evaporation of this water promotes the user's cooling;

“Flexible personal evaporative cooling system with warming potential”, patent “U.S. Pat. No. US7721349B1 ”of June 25, 2005 presents a garment with small associated reservoirs from which a coolant permeates, coming into contact with a heat conductive material that is in contact with the user's skin and may contain a fan associated with the garment for ventilate and thus accelerate the evaporative process; and “Portable mist cooling device”, “U.S. patent Pat. No. US5775590 A ”of February 19, 1998 features a device composed of a manually pressurized reservoir that squirts a coolant close to the user's skin surface, includes a manually operated valve to control the amount of liquid used.

[004] Considering portability as a common feature of the various inventions presented and that portable devices have limited autonomy, it is considered that the autonomy of the cooling effect is limited to the amount of heat exchanging substance or the

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 4/20 amount of electrical energy that can be charged by the user of the presented inventions. About such inventions, it can be seen that:

Solutions that adopt a molten solid as a heat exchanger have the disadvantage that the melting of solid substances, suitable for use as heat exchangers for refrigerating a person, absorbs much less heat than the evaporation of these same substances;

Solutions that adopt a liquid-retaining fabric or screen to act as a coolant reservoir have the disadvantage of having its heat exchanger loading capacity limited to the amount of fabric or screen; and

Solutions that adopt the cooling of a gas through adiabatic expansion processes have the disadvantage of the high consumption of electrical energy necessary to provide the cooling of an adult individual.

[005] With this, such solutions result in the short time of cooling autonomy or in the excess weight that the user must support.

[006] Considering the independence between the cooling effect and the user's performance as a very desirable characteristic, systems that depend on the user to pump or manually actuate a valve have the disadvantage of the lack of automation, resulting in the dependence of the user's performance to obtain the cooling effect and causing a possible excess of workload for the user.

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 5/20

Objectives, Solution and Advantages [007] THE AUTONOMOUS REFRIGERATION DRESS aims to:

Provide individual cooling for one person;

Provide cooling autonomy for at least one hour regardless of external resources;

Provide means for refrigeration to occur automatically;

Provide means for the user to adjust the use of cooling resources in order to control the intensity of cooling according to their needs; and

Be portable.

[008] To provide individual refrigeration for a person, the present invention comprises a garment integrated with a refrigeration support system.

[009] Evaporation of a liquid in contact with a person's skin surface causes a cooling effect. Based on this phenomenon, the present invention disperses a refrigerant liquid over liquid retaining screens which are kept in contact with the surface of the wearer's skin in parts of the body corresponding to the chest, back, abdomen, arms or legs.

[010] In order to have cooling autonomy for at least one hour regardless of external resources, considering that the said refrigerant liquid is mainly water, that 2.5L (liters) of liquid are needed to provide the user's refrigeration and that said

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 6/20 cooling support system consumes electricity at a rate of 15W (watts) so the cooling support system includes:

A reservoir with a storage capacity of at least 2.5L (two and a half liters); and

A battery of at least 1250mAh (milliampere.hour) of electric charge capacity.

[011] For the refrigeration to occur automatically, the present invention comprises a set of interconnected devices so that the dispersion of liquid over the screens and the ventilation incident on the same screens, occurs without the need for user action.

[012] To keep the screens in contact with the user's skin surface, each screen is integrated with a multifunctional panel that is attached to the vest in the parts corresponding to the user's chest, back, abdomen, arms or legs, being the multifunctional panel permeable to ambient air and adapted to accommodate in its interstice the components of the cooling support system that act directly on the respective screen.

[013] To distribute the liquid from the reservoir to the various screens located on the vest, a network of ducts connects the reservoir to the screens.

[014] In order for the flow of liquid towards each of the screens to be compatible with the speed of its evaporation, a device called a calibrated orifice, which restricts the flow of liquid through it, is connected to each of the terminal branches of the pipeline network so that the flow of liquid in each terminal branch is a function of the pressure of the liquid at the entrance of the calibrated orifice and also a function of the caliber of this calibrated orifice.

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 7/20 [015] An air pump pressurizes the reservoir and a pressure switch, connected to the electric pump in order to control its activation, keeps the pressure inside the reservoir stable, and consequently, keeps the pressure stable at the entrance of each calibrated orifice.

[016] In order for the user to adjust the amount of liquid that is dispersed on the screens as needed, a device, hereinafter called a timer, is connected to a solenoid valve in order to open and close the flow of liquid in the solenoid valve repeatedly as the opening and closing times adjusted by the user through a selector switch integrated into the timer. The inlet nozzle of the solenoid valve being connected to the liquid outlet nozzle of the reservoir and the valve outlet nozzle connected to the inlet of the pipeline.

[017] In order for the user to adjust the intensity of the ventilation on the screens, at least one fan installed in the interstice of each multifunctional panel ventilates the liquid retained on the respective screen of the multifunctional panel, and the wearer controls the activation of the fans via a power switch button.

[018] Considering that the solution adopted meets the proposed objectives, the present invention has an advantage over the state of the art by:

Have autonomy of at least one hour regardless of external resources;

To be able to use refrigerants with high energy absorption power during its evaporation;

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 8/20

Be automatic; and

Allow the user to adjust its operation as needed.

List of Figures [019] FIG. 1 shows a view of the front part of the vest, showing: the integration of the vest with the elements of the cooling support system and the layout and shape of the multifunctional panels located on the front of the vest.

[020] FIG. 2 shows a view of the back of the vest, showing: the integration of the vest with the elements of the cooling support system, the layout and shape of the multifunctional panels located on the back of the vest and the location and shape of the reservoir.

[021] FIG. 3 shows an example of a screen that comprises the innermost layer of the multifunctional panels.

[022] FIG. 4 shows an example of an intermediate layer of the multifunctional panels showing the elements of its conformation.

[023] FIG. 5 shows a fan example.

[024] FIG. 6 shows an example of the outermost layer of the multifunctional panels.

[025] FIG. 7 shows an example of a multifunctional panel showing the integration: with a terminal branch of the duct network, with a calibrated orifice and with a fan.

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 9/20 [026] FIG. 8 shows the second compartment.

[027] FIG. 9 shows the arrangement of components of the cooling support system in the first compartment.

Detailed Description of the Invention [028] THE AUTONOMOUS REFRIGERATION DRESS, preferably:

It is made from a vest with fabric made of leather;

It has a Zipper 101 sewn into the vest to connect the right and left sides of the front of the vest that covers the abdominal and thoracic areas;

It has elastic strips 102 and 103 stitched on the edges adjacent to the front and back of the vest, between the armpits and waist area, connecting the front and back parts that cover the trunk, the length of these straps being adjustable by a buckle; and

It has leather straps 104 and 105 of 2.0 cm wide and 2.5 mm thick sewn into the garment fabric in the form of straps surrounding the gap corresponding to the passage of the user's arms, and in the form of two strips 208 and 209 that connect the two straps passing through the back below the cervical area and maintaining a distance of 30.0 cm from each other at the midpoint of the straps in the form of strips;

It has cutouts of parts of the original vest fabric on the right and left sides in the chest, abdomen, dorsal and lumbar area making a number of eight cutouts, made in the shape of the

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 10/20 contour of the respective multifunctional panel that will be superimposed on each cutout, maintaining a 1.0 cm margin from the cutout to the contour of the multifunctional panel projection under the cutout; e It is integrated into a cooling support system.

[029] The cooling support system that is integrated into the garment preferably consists of: a reservoir, multifunctional panels, a pressure switch, an air pump, a solenoid valve, a timer, a calibrated orifice for each multifunctional panel, a fan for each multifunctional panel, an electrical current source, three electrical current supply circuits, a duct network with a terminal branch for each multifunctional panel, two electrical current switches and two compartments.

[030] Reservoir 202, preferably:

It is made of 1.0 mm thick flexible rubber wrapped in inflexible nylon fabric; with internal volume of 2.5 liters;

It has a cylindrical shape with an internal diameter of 10 cm and a height of 35 cm;

It has an inlet nozzle 203 at the top of the reservoir with 4.0 cm in diameter, with a 2.5 cm long threaded rod, with a screw cap and with a nut that fixes the inlet nozzle by pressing the reservoir rubber against the flanges of the inlet nozzle itself;

It has an outlet nozzle 205 at the bottom of the reservoir with a spigot connection for 1/8 in. Diameter hoses, with a 1.0 cm long stem with thread and a nut that

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 11/20 fixes the nozzle by pressing the reservoir rubber against the flanges of the outlet nozzle itself;

It has an air passage 204 at the top of the reservoir with spike connection for hoses of 1/8 in. Internal diameter, with 1.0 cm long stem with thread and with a nut that fixes the nozzle pressing the reservoir rubber against the flanges of the air passage itself; and

It is surrounded by two straps 206 and 207 of 2.0 cm wide and 2.5 mm thick, sewn to the fabric surrounding the reservoir, one 2.5 cm from the top and another 2.5 cm from the bottom of the reservoir , these straps being sewn to the straps in the form of strips.

[031] Each multifunctional panel 106, 107, 108, 109, 210, 211, 212 and 213, preferably:

It is made in three overlapping layers, the outermost layer of resin being reinforced by aramid fibers 1.0 mm thick, the intermediate layer of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) 13.0 mm thick, and the layer more internal, which comprises the liquid-retaining fabric, made of 300g / m ² of thick cotton fabric;

It has irregular trapezoidal, pentagonal or hexagonal contours, depending on the area of the body where the respective multifunctional panel is superimposed, with circular corners of 2.5 cm radius and with the outermost layer molded according to the surface of the human body area that each panel multifunctional overlaps;

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 12/20

It has holes 601 and 401 that cross the outer and intermediate layers perpendicularly to the surface of the multifunctional panel, the holes having a rectangular profile with rounded edges, equally spaced from each other, maintaining a distance of at least 1 cm from the edges of the multifunctional panel, and covering one third of the surface area of the multifunctional panel;

It has in the geometric center of the intermediate layer a cavity 402 in the form of a parallelepiped with a square cross section of 40.0 mm on the side and 10.0 mm deep from the outermost surface, being that, perpendicular to the plane formed by the bottom of the cavity a through and circular hole 38.0 mm in diameter is drilled from the geometric center of the square in the plane formed by the bottom of the cavity;

It has a first open 404 channel on the side of the intermediate layer with a diameter of 5.0 mm, with a symmetry axis parallel to the surfaces of the intermediate layer, starting at the side of the intermediate layer and directed to the geometric center in a straight line, with depth such that the bottom of the channel is positioned 5.0 mm away from the cavity walls in the shape of a parallelepiped;

It has a liquid dispersing nozzle formed from a second 405 channel with 2.0 mm in diameter, opened in the intermediate layer from the contact surface with the screen and directed to the bottom of the first channel, intercepting it so that it communicates the first channel to the interstice between the middle layer and the screen; and

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 13/20

It has a third channel 406 and 701 open in the intermediate layer from the contact surface with the outermost layer, perpendicular to this surface and surrounding the entire contour of the intermediate layer 5 mm away from the edge of this layer, being the section profile transversal to the third rectangular channel 10 mm deep and 1 mm wide.

[032] The multifunctional panels are attached to the vest, preferably:

Overlapping the cutouts of the original garment fabric corresponding to each respective multifunctional panel;

Sewing each screen of the multifunctional panel directly on the fabric of the vest, occupying the area corresponding to the respective cutout of the original fabric of the vest;

Sewing each intermediate layer of the multifunctional panel directly on the fabric of the garment, overlapping the respective screen, this sewing being done through the third channel opened in the intermediate layer itself; and

Adhering the outermost layer of the multifunctional panel with adhesive on the respective intermediate layer.

[033] Pressure switch 901, preferably:

It has a normally closed configuration;

It has switching pressure set to 5 psi; and

It has a pressure tap with spike connection for hoses with an internal diameter of 1/8 inch.

[034] The air pump 902, preferably:

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 14/20

It has 12V supply voltage with direct current;

It has a flow rate of 2L / min;

It has an outlet nozzle with spike connection for hoses with an internal diameter of 1/8 in; and

It is a diaphragm pump type.

[035] The 906 solenoid valve, preferably:

It has 12V supply voltage with direct current;

It has a normally closed type configuration; and

It has inlet and outlet nozzles with spigot connection for hoses with an internal diameter of 1/8 inch.

[036] The pressure switch socket and the outlet nozzle of the air pump are connected by hose segments with an internal diameter of 1/8 inch to a Y-shaped 907 adapter with spike couplings that is connected by another segment 908 of the same hose to the air passage nozzle 204 at the top of the reservoir.

[037] The inlet nozzle 910 of the solenoid valve is connected to the outlet nozzle 205 of the reservoir through a hose segment with an internal diameter of 1/8 in.

[038] The pipeline network with a terminal branch for each multifunctional panel, preferably:

Connects, through a hose segment with an internal diameter of 1/8 in, the outlet nozzle 909 of the solenoid valve to a multiple bypass 905 of couplings like spigots with outlets in an amount equivalent to the number of multifunctional panels; and

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 15/20

Connects, through segments and hose with an inside diameter of 1/8 inch and an external diameter of 1/5 inch, each outlet of the multiple branch 905 to a multifunctional panel.

[039] The calibrated holes 702, preferably:

Adapted for insertion in flexible hoses with an internal diameter of 1/8 inch;

They are inserted at a depth of 2.0 cm from the outlet nozzle, one in each end branch of the duct network; and

They have a caliber of 0.008 in (inches).

[040] The outlet nozzle of each end branch of the duct network must be inserted in the first channel 404 of a multifunctional panel at a maximum depth of 2.0 cm and fixed in this position with adhesive as shown in FIG. 7.

[041] The electric current source 904, preferably:

It is a battery with three Li-ion cells with a charge capacity of 2150 mAh (milliampere-hour) each, nominal voltage of 3.6 V (Volts) each, connected in series totaling 10.8 V (Volts) of nominal voltage.

[042] Timer 903, described as a device with means for repeatedly varying between open and closed the state of an electrical current supply circuit, the duration of the opening and closing times of the circuit being controlled by the user, preferably:

It has 12V supply voltage with direct current;

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 16/20

It has a selector switch to control the duration of the opening time of the electric current supply circuit connected directly to the timer body;

It has a selector switch 804 to control the duration of the closing time of the electric current supply circuit connected to the rest of the device through cables with 1m (meter) in length; and

It is able to vary the duration of closing and opening time of the electric current supply circuit between 0s (second) and 60s (seconds).

[043] The 703 fan, preferably:

It has 12V supply voltage with direct current;

It has a parallelepiped shape with a square cross section with 40 mm (millimeters) on its side and 10 mm (millimeters) in thickness;

It has the capacity to ventilate 4 CFM (cubic feet per minute).

[044] The first electrical current supply circuit, preferably:

Connects in series the electrical contacts of the air pump, the pressure switch, a first 802 electric current switch and the battery.

[045] The second electrical current supply circuit, preferably:

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 17/20

Connects in series the electrical contacts of the solenoid valve, timer, first electric current switch and battery.

[046] The third electrical current supply circuit, preferably:

Connects in parallel the electrical contacts of all fans; and

Serially connects the nodes resulting from the parallel connections of the fans to the electrical contacts of a second 803 electric current switch and the battery.

[047] The first compartment shown in FIG. 9, preferably:

It is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic;

It is made in the form of a parallelepiped with sides of 20.0 cm, 10.0 cm, 5.0 cm and 2.0 mm thick;

It is attached to the reservoir at the height of the midpoint of the reservoir's symmetry axis; and

Contains air pump, pressure switch, solenoid valve, timer, battery and multiple tap.

[048] The second compartment shown in FIG. 8, preferably:

It is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic;

It is made in the form of a parallelepiped with sides of 6.0 cm, 3.0 cm and 1.5 cm and 2.0 mm thick;

It has two strips 806 and 807 of adjustable length by a buckle on each strip, which are fixed with adhesive to the second

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Petition 870180009359, of 02/02/2018, p. 18/20 compartment at the ends of the surface formed by the 6.0 cm and 3.0 cm side plan, these strips being used to fix the compartment to the user's forearm;

It is connected to the first compartment by an 805 conduit 1 m (meter) long; and

It contains the first and second electric current switches and the timer selector switch, whose electric current conduction cables pass through the said conduit.

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Claims (4)

1. Autonomous refrigeration vest designed to refrigerate a person, it is characterized by including: a) At least one screen, represented by FIG. 3, capable of retaining liquid; b) A reservoir 202 of liquid; c) A network of pipelines that connect the reservoir to each screen; d) At least one fan, represented by FIG. 5, for each screen; e) Means for automatically controlling the dispersion of liquid over each screen; f) Means to actively ventilate each screen; and g) Means for each screen to remain in contact with the user's skin surface; 2. The means for automatically controlling the dispersion of liquid according to claim 1, characterized by including: a) An air pump 902 connected to the reservoir in order to pressurize it and whose electrical contacts are connected to a first electric current supply circuit; b) A 901 pressure switch whose pressure outlet is connected to the reservoir and whose electrical contacts are connected in series to the first electric current supply circuit; c) A solenoid valve 906 whose liquid inlet nozzle 910 is connected to the bottom of the reservoir and whose electrical contacts are connected to a second electrical current supply circuit; Page 1 of 3 Petition 870170065227, of 9/3/2017, p. 32/39 d) A device, hereinafter called timer 903, with means for repeatedly varying between open and closed the state of an electric current supply circuit and whose opening and closing times are controlled by the user, is connected in series to the second supply circuit. electric current; e) The inlet nozzle of the duct network connected to the outlet nozzle 909 of the solenoid valve; f) At least one hydraulic component, hereinafter referred to as calibrated orifice 702, provided with means to restrict the flow of liquid through itself, connected to each end branch of the pipeline network, as represented by FIG. 7; g) An electrical current switch 802 whose electrical contacts are connected in series to the first and second electrical current supply circuits; h) At least one electrical current source 904 connected in series to the first and second current supply circuits; and i) Means for each terminal branch of the duct network to have the outlet nozzle located in an area proximal to each screen. 3. The means for actively ventilating each screen, according to claim 1, are characterized by including: a) At least the fan, according to claim 1, whose electrical contacts are connected in series to a third electrical current supply circuit; b) A second electrical current switch 803 whose electrical contacts are connected in series to the third electrical current supply circuit; Page 2 of 3 Petition 870170065227, of 9/3/2017, p. 33/39 c) The electrical current source connected in series to the third electrical current supply circuit; and d) Means for the ventilation produced by each fan to affect each respective screen. 4. The means for each screen to remain in contact with the user's skin surface, so that each terminal branch of the duct network has the outlet nozzle located proximal to each screen and so that the ventilation produced by each fan falls on each respective screen, according to any claim 1, 2 or 3, is supported by a device, hereinafter called multifunctional panel, characterized by: a) Be attached to the vest in parts corresponding to the user's chest, back, abdomen, arms or legs; b) Be composed of overlapping layers with the outermost layer, FIG. 6, made of predominantly rigid materials, the intermediate layer, FIG. 4, made of predominantly elastic materials and the innermost layer, FIG. 3, comprises the screen according to claim 1; c) Have 401 and 601 perforations in the outer and intermediate layers; d) Contain in the intermediate layer a channel 404 with a diameter equal to the outer diameter of the terminal branch of the pipeline network; e) Contain a dispersion nozzle 405 in the intermediate layer, which connects the interstice between the inner and intermediate layers to channel 404; f) Contain at least one cavity 402 in the intermediate layer, with a perforation 403 that passes through the entire intermediate layer; and g) Contain in the cavity the fan positioned to ventilate towards the screen, as represented by FIG. 7. Page 3 of 3